1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an electric connector, and in particular to an electric connector having lateral fasteners at two sides of the connector.
2. Description of the Related Art
Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional electric connector includes an insulation housing 11, a plurality of first terminals 12, a plurality of second terminals 13, and two lateral fasteners 14. The first terminals 12 are arranged in the front terminal slots of the insulation housing 11, and have pins horizontally located on the bottom surface of the insulation housing 11. The second terminals 13 are arranged in the rear terminal slots of the insulation housing 11, and have pins horizontally located on the bottom surface of the insulation housing 11. The levels of the pins of the first terminals 12 and the second terminals 13 are the same. Two lateral fasteners 14 are mounted and positioned at two lateral sides of the insulation housing 11. Each lateral fastener 14 has a positioning surface 141 having the same level as those of the first and second terminals 12 and 13.
The lateral fasteners 14 are mounted to the insulation housing 11 by way of press fitting. However, the combination method does not have good effects because the combination strength is not good and the insulation housing 11 may be damaged.
In addition, the pins of the first and second terminals 12 and 13 as well as the positioning surfaces 141 of the lateral fasteners 14 are bonded to a circuit board, so the levels of the pins and the positioning surfaces 141 have to be the same. Since the lateral fasteners 14 are quite long, it is difficult to control the positioning surfaces 141 and the first and second terminals 12 and 13 to be located at the same level. Therefore, more precise manufacturing processes may be required, thereby increasing the manufacturing cost.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide an electric connector having two lateral fasteners to be easily and firmly positioned in the insulation housing without damaging the insulation housing.
Another object of the invention is to provide an electric connector in which two lateral fasteners are pivotally mounted, so as to facilitate the adjustment of the positions of the positioning surfaces of the lateral fasteners. After the proper adjustment, the pins of the terminals and the positioning surfaces may be at the same level.
To achieve the above-mentioned objects, the invention discloses an electric connector. The electric connector includes an insulation housing formed with a plurality of terminal slots, two positioning slots formed at two sides of the insulation housing, a plurality of terminals inserted into the terminal slots of the insulation housing, respectively, and two lateral fasteners, each of which including a main body having a first end engaged with the corresponding positioning slot of the insulation housing. The first end of the main body is formed with an engagement structure. The insulation housing is formed with resilient members within the positioning slots. Each of the resilient members is formed with an engagement block. When the lateral fastener is inserted into the positioning slot, the engagement block engages with the engagement structure of the lateral fastener.
According to the above-mentioned structure, when the main body of the lateral fastener is inserted into the positioning slot of the insulation housing for positioning, the resilient member may be shifted away. After the main body enters the positioning slot, the engagement structure is engaged with the projection of the resilient member. Due to the formation of the slant guide surface of the projection in conjunction with elasticity of the resilient member, the assembling processes are quite easy, and the engagements are quite firm. Therefore, no further force has to be exerted for press fitting, and the insulation housing is free from being damaged.